20 Most Beautiful Observation Towers

Observation Tower in Jurmala, Latvia

“The Observation Tower in Jurmala” is located within the Dzintaru Park in Jurmala, Latvia. The 38-meter tall structure is enclosed with an open-air cage allowing screened views of the encompassing nature reserve. Designed by Lativan architect ARHIS, visitors enter the construct through a discreet stair and continue climbing towards the pinnacle deck positioned at a height of 33.5 meters. Twelve balconies capable of accommodating one or two individuals cantilever outside the rectangular faces, allowing a sweeping vista of the landscape.

Der Indenmann in Lucherberg, Germany

The Indemann observation tower is located at Lucherberg in the municipality of Inden in Germany. This 36 meter high, accessible steel sculpture, built on a brown coal dump, resembles in its form a primitive robot. The structure is covered by a specially made mesh of stainless steel interwoven with LED lights that come to life at night.

Observatorium in Utrecht, The Netherlands

Observatorium is located in ‘Sculpture Park Leidsche Rijn’ in Utrecht, The Netherlands. The tower consist of a spiraling walkway that takes visitors through a slender tower and subsequently lead them back to ground level.

The Bostoren in Schovenhorst Estate, The Netherlands

The Bostoren is a 40 meter high watchtower located at Schovenhorst Estate, in the Dutch province of Gelderland. Climbing the tower is an adventure in itself through the ever-changing perspective, nesting boxes and a gallery with a spectacular free-hanging cage. Once at the top of this architectural gem, the reward is a magnificent view over the Veluwe, a huge forested region and a nature reserve.

Observation Towers at Red Star Line Museum, Antwerp

Between 1873 and 1935, the ocean liners of the Red Star Line shipping company carried some 2.6 million fortune-hunters, businessmen and wealthy travellers from Europe, via Antwerp, Belgium, to the ‘promised land’ of America. Their stories, and those of other migrants, past and present, seeking to try their luck elsewhere, are told at the Red Star Line Museum at the shipping company’s former premises next to the Rijnkaai, where the ships used to dock.

The Lightning in Breda, The Netherlands

The Lightning is an observation tower that stands alongside the cycle path between Breda and Etten-Leur, in The Netherlands. It takes its name from the Z-shaped design that resembles a lightning bolt. The steel structure is 22 meters high.

Air Watchtower 7T1, Winschoten

The Air Watchtower 7T1 in Winschoten, The Netherlands, was built in 1954 to look out for Russian airplanes during the Cold War. The tower is 16.5 meters tall with a viewing platform at the top that can be rotated.

Watchtower in Fochteloërveen, The Netherlands

This 18 meter high observation tower was opened in the Fochteloërveen, The Netherlands, in 2000. It offers visitors a magnificent view over one of the last raised bogs in Europe. The tower is built in the shape of a seven and integrated into the environment.

New Fire Tower in Reusel, The Netherlands

The New Fire Tower, designed to look like stacked boxes, serves both as a lookout tower for possible forest fires as well as a visitor attraction. Built in 2008, the New Fire Tower consists of six cube-shaped blocks, all of which are opened in a different direction allowing a visitor, who walks through the building, to see a new, framed view at each floor.

Korkeasaari Zoo Watchtower, Helsinki

This delicately transparent wooden watchtower is located in Helsinki's Korkeasaari Zoo, on Korkeasaari Island. The 10-meters high tower was designed by the students of architecture at Helsinki University of Technology after they won at a design competition organized by the Korkeasaari Zoo.

Observation Tower at Circuit of the Americas

This signature building is located at the Circuit of The Americas,a Formula 1 Grand Prix facility in Austin, the United States. The 251-foot tall Observation Tower is wrapped by a double-helix staircase while a roof of steel tubes converges at the base of the Tower to form a “veil” that sweeps up and over the central elevator core. A viewing deck at an elevation of 230 feet offers a sweeping panorama of the entire track, downtown Austin, and the nearby Hill Country.

Photo credit: Miró Rivera Architects

Photo credit: Miró Rivera Architects

Photo credit: Miró Rivera Architects

Pyramidenkogel Tower

The is located at the top of the 850-m-high Pyramidenkogel mountain in southern Austria. The10-storey helix-shaped structure replaced a dreary, 40-year-old steel and concrete tower in 2013. The tower is built of wood and steel and is ranked as the tallest wooden tower in the world at 100 meters.

ArcelorMittal Orbit, London

The ArcelorMittal Orbit is a 114.5 meter tall sculpture and observation tower in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London, designed by famed artist Anish Kapoor. It is Britain's largest piece of public art, and is intended to be a permanent lasting legacy of London's hosting of the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. See more pictures.

Poledník Lookout Tower

The Poledník lookout tower in Polednik was originally a radar tower located in the inaccessible military premises. After the army abandoned the site in 1989, the tower underwent reconstruction and a cabin with a snack-bar was attached thereto. The lookout tower was opened to public in July 1998.

Lusatian Lakeland Landmark

This viewing tower is located on the Sorno canal between the Lake Sedlitz and the Lake Geierswalde in the heart of Lakeland, the largest artificial lake landscape in Europe. Made from rust-coloured Corten steel, the Landmark is intentionally reminiscent of the industrial origins and history of the Lake land and of steel mining machinery. From a height of thirty meters, visitors can see three lakes and the Schwarze Pumpe, Boxberg and Jänschwalde power plants on the horizon.

Jübergtower Hemer Landmark

The Jübergtower Hemer Landmark is located on a forested hill on the outskirts of Hemer, just east of the Ruhr in North Rhine-Westphalia. The hyperboloid structure comprises 240 timber battens criss-crossing in two directions around the tower to create a crisply articulated lattice structure. Inside, a spiral staircase winds up to an observation deck.

Observation Tower on the River Mur

This observation tower rises over the river Mur at the Austrian border with Slovenia. The aluminium-clad structure staircase curls back on itself at the top, forming a double spiral so that visitors on the way up pass those on the way down.

Nebra Ark Observation Tower

The Nebra Ark Visitor Center hovers at the foot of the Mittelberg Mountain, the site where the 3,600-year-old Nebra Sky Disc was found tha place is now marked by a 30-meter-high observation tower that leans slightly to one side. During the summer solstice the sunset is visible through a vertical slit in the tower, as the orientation of the Sky Disc is aligned to the exact visual axis from Mittelberg to Brocken Mountain on this day.